Football Preview: Purchase Line Red Dragons vs. River Valley Panthers
The Purchase Line Red Dragons are taking a road trip to take on the River Valley Panthers at 7:00 p.m. on Friday. Purchase Line is no doubt hoping to put an end to a three-game streak of away losses.
Last Friday, Purchase Line came up short against Penns Manor and fell 14-7.
Even if they lost, Purchase Line's defense still kept up the pressure with three sacks. Seth Frantz was especially locked on to Penns Manor's QB and sacked him twice. Purchase Line got some further help from Ethan Bartlebaugh: he picked up a sack, forced a fumble, and forced a fumble.
Meanwhile, River Valley waltzed into their contest on Friday with three straight wins... but they left with four. They breezed by the Wildcats on the road to the tune of 63-6. That looming 63-6 mark stands out as the most commanding margin for the Panthers yet this season.
River Valley got their win on the backs of several key players, but it was Gavin Burkhart out in front who rushed for 229 yards and two touchdowns on only 11 carries. With that strong performance, Burkhart is now averaging an impressive 111.6 rushing yards per game. Sam Yanits was in the mix too, providing River Valley with two touchdowns.
Perhaps unsurprisingly given the score, River Valley was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 358 rushing yards. That's the most rushing yards they've posted since back in September of 2023.
River Valley wouldn't let Homer-Center keep a hold of the ball as they managed to force three fumbles. It was truly a group effort as Sam Ewing, Merreck Smith, and Smith picked up one apiece. Nathan Wadding is also on a roll when it comes to total tackles, as he's now made six or more in the last four games he's played dating back to last season.
Purchase Line now has a losing record at 2-3. As for River Valley, their victory bumped their record up to 4-1.
Everything went Purchase Line's way against River Valley in their previous meeting back in September of 2023, as Purchase Line made off with a 38-16 win. One of the biggest obstacles the team faced in that game was Yanits, who rushed for 64 yards and two touchdowns on only eight carries. Now that he's got a second chance to win this matchup, will Purchase Line still be able to contain Yanits? There's only one way to find out.
Article generated by infoSentience based on data entered on MaxPreps
